Eleven-time NBA All-Star and players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike will retire at the end of this season. She announced her decision on Wednesday, bringing to a close a 15-season-long career.
“I feel very fulfilled with the 15 years that I’ve been able to play and compete at such a high level,” Ogwumike said, revealing her decision during an interview with Boardroom Talks.
“Even though I didn’t know what kind of player that I could be in this league, I never thought that I would play this long,” the 36-year-old Los Angeles Sparks forward said.
Ogwumike was drafted first overall by the Sparks in 2012 and the side to the championship in 2016, a season where she earned league MVP honours too.
She gave the Sparks 12 seasons before moving to Seattle Storm for two seasons. She returned to the Sparks where she will now finish her career.
“It’s a little bit my body. I still feel very good, but I also feel the comfort of slowing down,” Ogwumike said. “I just feel content. I feel very content with where I’ve left my career, with 15 years under my belt. I feel very content about what we were able to achieve coming into this season, where we see the league today.”
Ogwumike is averaging 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.
“Nneka will retire at the end of this season leaving the WNBA much better than she found it — a testament not only to the player she has been, but to the person and leader she is,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement.
“It has been a privilege to watch her remarkable journey, and while there is still more basketball to be played this season, we congratulate her on an extraordinary career and look forward to celebrating her in the months ahead.”
Ogwumike in the interview also expressed contentment with the state of women’s basketball. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson credited Ogwumike for extraordinary leadership as president of the union, which earlier this year negotiated a transformative collective bargaining agreement.
“She has served this union with a level of commitment, courage, integrity and purpose that is truly unparalleled,” Carmichael Jackson said in a text message. “Nneka understood that leadership was not simply about having a seat at the table: It was about using that seat to move the game and the business of the game forward for every player — today and for generations to come.”
Ogwumike was reelected for her fourth term as president in June. It’s unclear who will succeed her after she retires.
(With inputs from AP)
Published on Aug 20, 2026
